


A Sad Beginning

by ReginaNocis



Series: Maze Runner: Teen Wolf Edition [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV), The Maze Runner (Movies)
Genre: Lydia Martin is Teresa (Maze Runner), Multi, Spoilers, Stiles Stilinski is Thomas (Maze Runner), Teen Wolf as Maze Runner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 06:09:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13607220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReginaNocis/pseuds/ReginaNocis
Summary: Lydia remembers how it all started. WCKD is good... right?





	A Sad Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Cast of Characters:
> 
> Stiles- Thomas  
> Lydia- Teresa  
> Peter- Jansen  
> Jennifer- Ava Paige  
> Scott- Newt  
> Isaac- Minoh  
> Derek- Vince  
> Laura- Mary  
> Allison- Brenda  
> Chris- Jorge  
> Boyd- Aris  
> Erica- Sonya  
> Jackson- Alby  
> Matt- Gally
> 
> Additional characters will be added as more stories are added. Until then, enjoy!

Lydia sat in the medical bay, watching Stiles sleeping for what would probably be the last time. She was authorized to watch the mazes, which meant she would never see him again. She could remember the very first time they’d met as clearly as if it had happened yesterday.

_“Ms. Martin, we have a friend for you,” Peter told her, his smile still too creepy to be natural. She tried to avoid him as much as possible._

_“Who is it?” she asked softly, inching back a few steps. He had to notice, but he let her go. Every once in a while he seemed to remember that she was just a child._

_“His name is Genim Stilinski, but he prefers Stiles,” Peter told her. “He’ll be out of testing in just a few minutes, and we’ll have you join him here. Would you like to give him the tour?”_

_“Stiles is not a name,” Lydia pointed out, frowning. Peter hated it when she ignored his questions, though, and she didn’t like him enough to want him to stay for much longer. “I’ll show him around.”_

_“Thank you,” Jennifer told her. She was standing in the doorway with a boy who couldn’t be any older than Lydia’s thirteen years. He had very short, dark hair, and bags under his dark eyes. He certainly didn’t look healthy, but he’d had to have passed all of their tests or he wouldn’t have gotten this far. “You two will be spending quite a bit of time together, so we’d hoped you’d get along. We’ll leave you to get to know each other.”_

_Stiles sat down across from Lydia with no hesitation. He didn’t seem at all shy or afraid, the way she had been when she’d been brought in. She’d taken such good care of her mother, all the way to the end, and she didn’t want to come with the people who had taken her away. She’d spent months by herself, refusing to talk to anyone. They locked her in her room for the longest time, worried she’d contracted the virus from her sick mother. She hadn’t, and they’d let her out. She’d slowly warmed up to Jennifer, but avoided Peter whenever she possibly could. Stiles didn’t seem to have any trouble with Jennifer, but he’d avoided Peter when he’d entered the room. They’d get along just fine._

_“My name is Lydia,” she told him. “I’ve been here for two years. There aren’t many children our age. It’s nice to have someone normal to talk to.”_

_“I’m Stiles,” the boy told her. He was smiling brightly. “Dr. Blake told me you’re the smartest one here, apart from her. I’m here because I tested higher than any of the other kids in my batch.”_

_“In your batch?” Lydia asked, confused._

_“My mother brought me to the gates when she started getting sick. My dad died years ago.I was brought in with another guy, Scott, who was pretty awesome. He couldn’t pass the last test, though. I’m not sure what it even was,” Stiles told her. “The other guys were already here, but they were put in our group. I got to meet all of them, but only a couple stood out. I hope they all get another chance. This place is awesome.”_

_“There isn’t anything very fun to do,” she warned him. “It’s mostly more tests and simulations. They’re designing something, and I’ve been helping. It’s like… a big maze, basically. You’ve heard of The Labyrinth, right?”_

_“It’s one of my favorite movies,” Stiles agreed. Lydia rolled her eyes._

_“Of course it is, but that’s not what I’m talking about. It’s different in mythology, with much worse creatures guarding the exits. That’s what they’re making, basically. I don’t know who they’re going to put in there, but they’ll definitely have a hard time surviving. I helped with the genetic coding on one of their creatures, and they’re horrifying,” she told him. “I heard someone call them Grievers.”_

_“That doesn’t sound fun at all,” Stiles agreed. “They won’t put us in there, will they?”_

_“No,” Lydia promised him. “Jennifer says we’re too important. We’re going to shape the world.”_

Watching him sleep now, she wished she’d never made that promise. He’d been so enthusiastic from the very beginning. He’d jumped right into designing the mazes, helping to construct virtual walls and making countless diagrams. He was extremely artistic, just in a different way from Lydia. He was a perfect fit at WCKD. And then they sent the first kids in.

_“We’re happy to say that the first subjects have successfully entered the mazes. Twenty-six in total, fully functional and being constantly monitored,” Jennifer told the conference room. Lydia clapped with everyone else, but Stiles had a passive expression kept his hands on the table._

_“Who went in?” he asked when the clapping ended. Peter glared at him, but Stiles had long ago stopped being phased. Lydia admired him for it. Peter still creeped her out._

_“A control group of teenagers who are immune,” Jennifer told him, still smiling. “The first should be waking up any minute now. We’ve taken their memories, and we’re monitoring their brain waves for the antibodies.”_

_“Why did you take their memories?” he asked, frowning now. “Haven’t we taken enough from them?”_

_“Stiles,” Lydia said quietly, squeezing his thigh in warning under the table. But Jennifer didn’t seem angry._

_“We thought it would be easier for them to adapt if they didn’t remember what they were giving up. They know their names, and they retain basic knowledge of how the world works. They remember the sun, but they don’t remember the scorch. We’ve made their lives easier,” Jennifer told the room at large. “We can now offer the same to anyone who wishes a better life. The next group will go up in exactly one month. We’ll keep sending them in until they find their way out.”_

_“We designed those mazes to be unsolvable,” Stiles pointed out. “We’ll be sending kids up there forever.”_

_“You solved it every single time,” Peter pointed out. Lydia knew that Stiles was proud of that fact, but right now he was seething._

_“Because I helped design the basic concepts. I was around this project from the beginning. Unless you’re sending the design crews up, which I know you’re not, none of those mazes are going to have the results you want. I hope you know that,” he retorted. Peter’s fists clenched, but Jennifer waved him down._

_“We have reasonable belief that at least one of the groups will work together well enough to solve the maze and make it out alive. That group will become the first to successfully activate the antibodies for the cure. And that’s what this is all about, isn’t it, Stiles? The cure that will save all of humanity. We’re shaping the world,” she reminded him. “Sacrifices have to be made. They knew what they were signing up for.”_

_“And did they?” Stiles asked impatiently._

_“Did they what?” Peter snapped. Everyone else in the room was starting to get restless, looking uneasy at the prospect of children being sacrifices._

_“Did they sign up?” Stiles demanded. “Did they actually volunteer for this, or did they get pulled out of their beds, injected with drugs, wiped of their memories, and sent up into a maze with no explanation at all? Do they even know it’s a maze?”_

_“That’s enough,” Jennifer said calmly. “Please see me with any further questions or concerns. For now, let’s go back to our stations and continue working as usual. I’ll be by to assign new tasks as the day continues.”_

_Lydia hurried to catch up to Stiles, grabbing his hand tightly and pulling him to the side. He gave her a frustrated look, but it didn’t last. She could see the bags under his eyes._

_“This isn’t right, Lyds,” he said quietly. “They have to be using the kids who didn’t pass all the tests to get in here. Scott could be up there right now.”_

_“We can find out who went up, if you want,” she offered. “I have access to all of the mazes. But they can’t actually be planning on hurting any of those kids.”_

_“Do you really trust that?” Stiles asked, raising an eyebrow. Lydia didn’t, but she couldn’t admit that to him. She needed to calm him down so she’d have time to actually look into it._

_“Yes, I do. They haven’t hurt us, and we’re the same age. The Grievers aren’t programmed to hurt or even kill, just scare,” she reminded him._

_“Listen, you know my bunkmate, right? Derek Hale? Your bunkmate’s brother?” Stiles asked, and Lydia nodded impatiently. “He was telling me just yesterday that they did last minute reprogramming to half of the mazes. He doesn’t know what all they changed, but it was a lot.”_

_“And you think part of that was bloodlust in the Grievers?” Lydia asked, raising an eyebrow. Stiles sighed. “I’m not missing your point, Stiles, I just think you’re making assumptions with no way to back it up.”_

_“And if I had a way to back it up?” Stiles asked impatiently._

_“Find proof, and then we can talk about shutting it down. For now, go back to work as if nothing has changed. I’ll do some digging and see what I come up with. I’ll even talk to Laura about it if you want. She helped the programming process yesterday,” Lydia told him. She didn’t think he was going to agree at first, judging by the fire in his eyes, but he nodded and relaxed._

_“Thank you,” he told her softly. “I’ve always got your back, you know that right?”_

_“Of course I know that,” she assured him, hugging him. “And I’ve always got yours.”_

Laura and Derek had disappeared before Lydia ever got a chance to talk to either of them. Peter had told her that they’d been relocated to another facility, but she was starting to realize that most of what Peter had told her had been lies. The moment Stiles found out they were gone, he started avoiding her.

It took her a while to realize that was what he was doing, because he still ate his meals with her. They talked like nothing was unusual, and then they’d go on about their usual business. Except usually they’d spend their downtime together, and now Stiles was always conveniently busy whenever she was free. If she’d noticed sooner, she might have been able to prevent all of this, but she refused to get caught in what-ifs.

_“The second batch went up today,” Lydia told him at lunch. He gave her a look she couldn’t read, which was unusual. He’d just sat down, though, so he probably hadn’t expected her to start with that._

_“I heard,” he said cautiously._

_“I thought you might like to know that Scott went up today,” she said quietly. “He’s in Maze 13.”_

_“With Jackson?” Stiles asked, frowning. “Those two don’t get along on a good day.”_

_“Yes, but they don’t have their memories,” she pointed out. It was the wrong thing to say, judging by Stiles’ closed off expression. “They get their memories back when they come out. He’ll remember you.”_

_“If he comes out,” Stiles muttered. Lydia was pretty sure she wasn’t meant to hear it. “Look, Lyds, thank you for the information, but I don’t want to know any more.”_

_“You’re suddenly not interested?” she asked, surprised. “Did you give up on your evil WCKD ideas?”_

_“I never thought they were evil,” he sighed._

_“We,” she corrected. “We are WCKD. Both of us, and all of them. I’m with you.”_

_“Are you?” he asked suddenly._

_“What?” she asked, startled. She hadn’t expected him to question that. It hurt her to think he’d question her loyalty **now** of all times._

_“Nothing, never mind,” he said, rubbing his forehead. “I’m not really hungry anymore.” He left without another word, leaving his tray with her._

Months had gone by, and more kids had gone up. The apparent last straw for Stiles was Liam, the quiet kid who went into Scott’s maze. He was only twelve, and even Lydia was questioning why they would send such a young child into a harsh environment like that. It was only days later that he’d pulled Lydia down to the basement to try to tell her about Derek and Laura, and what he’d done.

She wished she could be surprised, but she’d suspected him for quite some time now. Still, even though he’d betrayed her trust, she couldn’t let him die. And watching Peter’s grim satisfaction in sending him into the maze made her realize that maybe WCKD was not the good organization they claimed to be.

She’d wanted to make her mother proud. She’d wanted to prevent others from going through what she went through. But if that meant sacrificing the lives of children, she just couldn’t stand by and watch. She had to do something.

“It’s time,” Jennifer told her, looking sad. Lydia could see through that now. Jennifer didn’t care about them at all. She only cared about finding a cure.

“Can I say goodbye?” she asked. “I know that what he did was wrong, but I grew up with him.”

“Of course,” Jennifer agreed. “I’ll give you a few minutes before we take him away.” She left the room without another word, and Lydia leaned over to hug Stiles one last time. He wouldn’t feel her, and he wouldn’t know her anymore even if he had.

“I’ll fix this,” she whispered in his ear. “I’ll make it right, and I’ll save you. I promise.”

 

Two days later, she found the piece of paper Stiles had stashed in the corner of the garbage chute with the contact information for the Hales. She made the call with no hesitation, knowing exactly what would happen when they caught her.

“Who is this?” the woman on the phone demanded.

“Laura? This is Lydia. They caught Stiles. He won’t be making any more calls, but I will. I’ll call until they catch me,” she answered.

“Lydia, what are you doing?” Laura asked, horrified. “You know what they do up there.”

“And I know you can stop it. Save whoever you can, and bring them down. Promise me,” she replied.

“I promise,” Laura answered with no hesitation.

“And I’ll keep him alive until you do,” Lydia told her.

She had a plan. She had a way to remember the memories they would try to steal. She would remember Stiles. She would know her promise. She would save them all.


End file.
